


Just a Man

by Knightqueen



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Adoption, Black Character(s), Canon Character of Color, Family, Family Drama, Gen, Gen Work, Headcanon, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Rating: PG13, blackinfanfiction, pentecostappreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2014-12-31
Packaged: 2018-03-04 12:50:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 2,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3068567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knightqueen/pseuds/Knightqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pentecost isn't a man many can say they've had the privilege of knowing, much less serving alongside in a conflict. The man's reputation makes him immortal, almost god-like in the eyes of man. Yet, for all the talk, Pentecost is just a man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Song for Him

**Author's Note:**

> **Author's Note:** The following drabble-esque stories were submissions for the tumblr event [pentecostappreciation](http://pentecostappreciation.tumblr.com/) which began Decemebr 20th, 2014 and ended December 30th, 2014 in honor of the character's birthday.  
>  **Disclaimer:** _Pacific Rim_ is property of Gillermo del Toro, Travis Beacham and Legenary Pictures. _Tekken_ and _Street Fighter/Street Fighter Alpha_ are property of Capcom and Namco [Bandai].
> 
> * * *

No one really knew what kind of music Stacker preferred to listen to, with exception of maybe a few (Tendo, Herc, Mako). There was speculation, but most probably missed the mark because they judged the man by what he allowed them to see. On those rare occasions he remembered to bring his iPod with him on his travels during and after his tenure as pilot and Marshal, what he listened to as a teenager and young adult never quite evolved the less interested he became in searching for music that didn't just fall in his lap via random radio shuffle. He still had a particular taste for electronica and dance music. And the songs that are guaranteed to end up looped on Stacker's iPod were undoubtedly, “[Unfinished Sympathy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWmrfgj0MZI)” – Massive Attack (feat. Shara Nelson), “[Smile?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EbkSMPbj_I)” – Crystal Method, “[Run With the Wolves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkjbodDH-gE)” – The Prodigy, and “[Don’t Think](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01rWFi65gU)” – The Chemical Brothers.


	2. School Blues

There aren't a lot of places Stacker would allow himself to doze off, much less sleep in if it wasn't his home. Where Luna was a champion of the power nap, Stacker prided himself on the idea of getting the proper allotted hours of sleep for most of his general education. Then he hit his ninth year and his mind began to wander. Staying up late at the club, watching mum perform on the pretense he was studying (and he did, sometimes), wandering the streets with his mates until it was time to go home, haunting the local library until it was time to go home. Everything other than his work was far more interesting.

And in a panic, he remembered to finish his work by the time the sun was rising. Sitting in class, trying to listen to his teacher was a pain, so he just allowed himself to drift away until one of his friends poked him or the teacher barked his name loud enough to make him stand at attention. It was inevitable he would get in trouble with his parents, but at the time, he wasn't terribly interested in working on his behavior, even when he promised he would.


	3. Tekken Alpha

Neither Stacker or Luna were "experts" when it came to fighting games like _Street Fighter Alpha_ or _Tekken 3_ , but they enjoyed them nonetheless. Where Luna excelled with _Tekken_ , Stacker beat her every time they played _Street Fighter_ , be it _Alpha_ or _II_ (insert edition name here). The video arcade in their neighborhood was slowly winding down and there was only so much money they were allowed spend there in a week, so Luna figured the next best thing to do was to save up for a PlayStation and hope they could afford to get the games once they did. 

They managed to get the system and the controls a month before Christmas, Stacker asked for _Tekken 3_ for his birthday, which usually meant he was going get whatever he asked for on Christmas Day, which was fine. They could wait for _Tekken_ , but _Alpha_ had be in their house now, so Luna turned the house over for any stray money until she amassed the proper pounds for purchase in conjunction with her allowance. Luna had just as many colorful things to say about losing to her brother in _Street Fighter_ for the umpteenth time (Ryu vs. Ken, Chun-Li vs. Sakura), even after hours of practice.


	4. Smiley Face

Pentecost ends his texts posts with the obligatory “cool” emoticon. Stacker was always using the cool emoticon. That self-confident, yellow floating head with perfect white teeth. Even when he didn’t say anything particularly “cool” (so far as Mako was concerned), cell phone and online discussions in that tiny box usually ended with a yellow head smiling back at you with its sunglasses. When she asked him why, he just shrugged and told her it was something he did out of habit. Not necessarily because what he thought he said was cool. "That and I know it annoys Lulu, so that's always a plus."


	5. Sleep Deprivation

Stacker rubs his forehead more than usual when he doesn't get enough sleep. The smallest things he's typically able to shrug off annoy him without effort. This becomes evident in his expressions, especially around people who he only tolerates on a professional level and nothing more (esp. Newton Geiszler), while the antics of his younger peers tend to be reprimanded quicker than usual.

Irregular pranksters that they are, putting dry ice in the coffee machine probably the wisest thing Hu and Jin ever did (Cheung pleaded innocent, claiming he was sleeping when they came up with the scheme) with a sleep deprived Stacker roaming the Shatterdome.


	6. Cold Drink

Stacker had always preferred to drink his beverages cold, no matter the temperature. Unless a hot drink was offered to him, he usually never went out of his way to prepare one for himself.

It always baffled the likes of his family, especially his mum, Viviane, who was always trying to make sure her boy was room warm during the winter. Cold drinks woke him up, tasted better. As far as he was concerned, cold was the only way to drink everything but hot chocolate, which also wasn't a bad drink when it got cold. It was a just a matter of perspective anyway.


	7. A Long Walk

Walking always cleared Pentecost's head. Staying in one place when he was troubled or needed to think never did him any good; the environment always felt too small, too confined for his body. If he didn't want to start kicking things, he got up and walked out the door.

He didn't have a bike when he was a kid and it would be another six years after joining the military before he treated himself to a motorcycle to get to-and-from long distances, so walking always did him right. And if he got tired of walking, he always headed for the underground for a different kind of motion.


	8. Kid Dreams

Stacker wanted to own a club when he grew up. Once upon a time, anyway. If he wasn't hanging around with his friends or on his own, then he was with his parents or sister. And he spent a lot of time in the club where his mother performed, he liked the atmosphere and he got to know a lot of the people that frequented the shaded space. Then the fight between his father and the other club owner, Driss, happened and the appeal of the clubs lost its luster.

He'd been there when the fight broke out, he remembered Luna and mum huddled around dad, trying to stop the bleeding from the stab wounds. He remembered standing outside, waiting for the ambulances to arrive, only to hear his mother crying a few moments later. His mother stopped working at the club, she got a job working at a market. He compounded things by setting Driss's club on fire, but it would be a cold day in hell before he looked at another club with any kind of fondness. The whole situation rather soured the dream of owning one himself.


	9. Here Comes the Sun

The sun and sunshine in bedrooms held a different kind of meaning for him since adopting Mako. Once upon a time, it was a nice thing to see, a breath fresh of air from cloudy days. Other times, it reminded him of the days when his mother would make rounds in the house, waking him and Luna up for school if they weren't up already, eating breakfast and watching whatever was on television.

Sunshine nowadays was the embodiment of, then a little girl's smile, now a confident young woman who wasn't so unsure about speaking her mind around people she wasn't so familiar with. Sunshine was a warm home and bed, listening to an overexcited girl singing along with her radio. While never a guarantee, sun and blue skies usually allowed him to wonder about what the world would look like once the war was over and the Kaiju were defeated. If it ended in his lifetime, anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

Stacker shouldn't quit his day job. He really shouldn't. Neither he or his sister were much for singing, that "gene" inherited by their mother just seemed to skip right past them. It's not that he couldn't sing, he just didn't sing well.

Luna never practiced well enough to sound like anything quite remarkable, so neither of them ever imagined perusing a musical career in the slightest sense of the word. Pentecost cold carry a mean tune on a harmonica though. He practiced enough in his free time to come up with his own melodies and Luna could carry a tune on a whistle better than most.


	11. Cats

Stacker's imagination usually wandered toward cats when he was bored. If it wasn't necessary for notes to be pristine and void of personal touches, there were usually all kinds of cats types sitting around the edges of his papers. Some wore sunglasses, others wore beanies or slept above the words, curled up all content like. In a sketchbook he's had since he was twenty, there are Calico's with blue steaks and close haircuts, a pair of grouchy Russian Blue's and insubordinate Tabby's doing things they shouldn't be doing.

Mako was decidedly critical about where he put the blue streaks on the cat clearly inspired by herself She always thought the streaks would be on either side of her instead down her back to her tail. She also didn't see much sense in giving his cat-self a close shave only around his head. And he was bored enough that he would modify the doodles on another page.


	12. Proper Introductions

Even in the midst of the evolution of the chaos that was personified by the Kaiju, moving from one place to another, once overseeing as a liaison, then a pilot, Stacker still felt intrinsically tied to home in Tottenham. The almost abrupt end of his piloting career following the attack in Tokyo, had left him without any real idea of what to do with himself except return home if he wasn't immediately needed. The almost double diagnosis of cancer for himself and Tasmin had been a little more than a "blow". If he wasn't being dramatic, death had always been a little more than a concept for him and his family.

He'd been present for his father's death, he buried his sister, watched his mother live a life a even after all she lost, before finally passing and joining the rest of his family. Now both him and his friend were going to go through hell before coming to an undetermined end themselves.

The family house needed tending to before he officially sold it and he probably could've used the break from the PPDC if it were remotely possible. But before he could really decide to throw his things in a bag and go back home, he received a call from the girl he and Tam saved. Mako Mori managed to get his contact information, coming out of her shell long enough to hassle her multiple charges at the orphanage to speak with the man who had saved her. She gave them no piece until they complied with her wishes.

They in turn contacted the PPDC, who eventually got around to forwarding the three week old message to him via e-mail. He didn't think much of it at first. He didn't think visiting her would lead to adaption, but he wasn't exactly thinking ahead beyond anything besides going to see his family.

When he finally got the chance to see Mako, she didn't seem terribly bothered that it took four weeks to finally get around to making an appearance. If anything, she just seemed happy she had the opportunity to thank him properly after she was whisked away with about a dozen other children who didn't have families to take care of them. Pentecost didn't pretend he would be forgiven for lollygagging either way, and apologized anyway. Their visits were supervised, which he figured wasn't out the ordinary (he had to check). Mako knew most of the people who accompanied her. He always saw her chatting casually with them before and after he left. They seemed to be treating well enough.

Most assumed he was a prospective parent, they always made passing mentions about Mako's popularity among the parents because of her overnight fame for surviving Onibaba's attack. The girl was more than a little uncomfortable (and dare he say it, angry) with the name "Tokyo's Daughter"; all she did was run hide, losing her shoe process because "she didn't want to lose her parents gift".

His Japanese wasn't perfect, so their conversations weren't as smooth as he hoped; some phrases he used didn't exactly translate well or just sounded clumsy, which always resulted in the almost comical image of little Mako helping him with proper pronunciation. He didn't pretend they were going through the problem of the language barrier with her still practicing her English (something she had been doing before the Kaiju attack). 

"Thank you for seeing me, Pentecost-san. It means a lot," She told him. Mako extended her hand to him, remembering how his hand large hand grasped the forearm of her other rescuer, "Tam".   
  
When he made a reach for her hand across the table, he was surprised by her move to grab his forearm. They shook awkwardly, Mako struggling to keep a grip on the forearm her fingers didn't get around. "It was a pleasure, Miss Mori," He told her.

He left for London two weeks later than he had planned. The whole time he was thinking about Mako. Specifically whether or not he could do something more for her than just visit.


	13. Knocking the Boots

Pentecost always knocked the tip of his boots against the edge of the threshold before he stepped into or out of the Conn-Pod. It was an odd thing Tamsin never thought to ask about. She'd seen Luna do it once or twice before she got into her Jet, but never thought anything of it at first. Then she got to thinking it was their version of a rabbit's foot.

In a way she had been half right. Stacker's grandfather, Obadel's father, Duke Pentecost, had been a pilot during the Second World War. When he volunteered, he was sixteen, but given his height (6'4'') and demeanor, recruiters assumed he was in his twenties and never thought twice to double check their paperwork. Every time, before he was shipped out, he knocked the tip of his boot against of the threshold of wherever he was staying.

According Duke's own father, Franklin, it was just his silent prayer not to be blown out of his boots charging an armed Calvary during the Great War. Stacker had no real concern (he did't think) about being blown out of his boots in a Jaeger, but he did it all the same out of respect to the men that came before him.


	14. Arcade Birthday

On one of those rare occasions, Mako got a chance to celebrate Stacker's birthday alone with him. He had taken her to London to see Luna and his parents, something he rarely did (probably, she assumed, because it was one of the few things he really had to himself, apart from her and the PPDC).   
  
He wasn't the happiest person on his birthday. He was always trying not to dwell in the past, but focus on the present. But neither were particularly bright, Mako always thought of doing something for him that was a little more cheerier than visiting the local pub.

The first thing she thought of was an arcade she had heard about from Tamsin the last time they visited her. It was for the nostalgic types, reliving the days when arcades were a big deal and consoles were only just gaining traction as a home attraction. Mako thought to surprise him, so she didn't tell him where exactly where they were going when got into the city. He humored her, obliging the blindfold when she asked that he wear it.

 "No counting footsteps, and no guessing," She said as they climbed into the cab. When they arrived, Pentecost remained silent despite recognizing the smell of the street and the distinct sounds of arcade cabinets when they entered through the doors. When she removed the blindfold, she presented the arcade environment to him like he won the lottery. "Surprise!"

The first game they played was _Tekken 7_ , Stacker used Eddy Gordo. Mako beat him using Lucky Chloe.`


End file.
